Police Officer Salary in Wales

What most police officers actually earn

Half of police officers in Wales earn between £33,118 and £51,634. Earning above £51,634 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.

ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Protective Service Occupations” group in Wales.

How Wales ranks for police officer pay

Scotland tops the table on £51,135 and Yorkshire and The Humber sits at the bottom on £46,540. Wales is £4,367 short of the top.

Ranking compares published regional medians for the same occupation. It says nothing about cost of living — a higher median doesn't survive contact with rent. The cost of living calculator is the honest next step.

Where this figure comes from

ONS occupation group

Police officers (sergeant and below)

SOC 2020 code

3312

Measure

Gross annual pay, all employees

Edition

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional

ONS doesn't measure “police officer” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Police officers (sergeant and below)”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS withdrew annual pay for this occupation in the 2025 provisional edition, so figures are hourly. The group covers sergeant and below.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.